A Special Chapter: Faith, Hope, & Love
by RueLin
Summary: A special three-part addition to the My Father was a Hero No One Knew series.
1. Faith

**Hey guys,**

**I hope you're all enjoying your summer vacation. I've only just finished my last final this Monday and I'm so excited to Father's Day. Make sure to take the day to show your dad, or uncle, or grandfather, or father figure even just how much you appreciate their guidance.**

**Anyways, I was actually planning to include this installment of the _My Father_ series after the actual sequel following the lives of Mayuri and Yukimura after Sasuke's execution. Unfortunately though, there is just one scruple of mine that gets in the way of this: the ending of the original _Naruto_ series. I don't like it when fanfic authors change the plot or characters of a story too much, it takes the point away from writing a fanfiction if you're just going to be having these characters that don't have any similarities to the originals. So that being said, the ending of _Naruto_ is rather important to how the sequel of _My Father_ is going to turn out. So naturally, there will be a lot of waiting. And I can't wait anymore for this short three part special to be released.**

**So here it is! The next three chapters is really a theory of how life would be if the Uchiha clan never planned a coup d'etat against Konoha which would ultimately help Itachi avoid making the sacrifice he did.**

**Please enjoy, and it would be lovely if you left a review. Thank you.**

**RueLin**

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Part One

Faith

He was twelve when he first noticed her. And the first thing he thought was how she managed to elude him all these years. He knew the caravan from Amegakure traveled to Konoha every summer, and since school was out for two weeks, he often took Sasuke to see what the commotion was all about. If he didn't know everyone's name in the caravan, then he at least knew their faces. His heightened senses and eidetic memory wouldn't let him perform any less than that. He was to be a great ninja after all.

So then, he wondered again, who could she be?

He watched her from afar, as he hung out with some of the lads from the caravan. Though he was a few years older, Toroki thought Itachi was the coolest person in the entire world. To impress the young ninja, Toroki often told exaggerated stories of his travels. Sasuke was always very intrigued by them, as were the rest of the neighborhood kids and Itachi always pretended to be at least interested, if not impressed. With all the missions he was assigned, there were few things that impressed him.

So, he thought yet again, enthralled, who could she be?

The first time he laid eyes on her, she seemed surreal with her glowing blonde hair and violet eyes and skin as white as snow. She held a melody of heaven at her fingertips. His sensitive ears caught a wrong note, but he hardly noticed at all. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

"Toroki, who's that girl?" he asked, cutting into the story the older boy was happily sharing.

All stopped and gazed over in the direction Itachi's finger pointed in.

"Ah, that's Shinpi, but everyone except Kaimu, the old minstrel, calls her by her stage name," he answered hesitantly, though he usually never denied Itachi of anything the boy ninja asked for.

"And what's that?"

"Mayuri, the lily."

"It suits her," he commented absentmindedly.

"I know what you're thinking, Uchiha," Toroki said and crossed his arms. "Everyone feels that way about her when they see her for the first time. I'll admit, even I did for a while, but you see that old geezer there?"

He pointed at Kaimu, who stood next to the angelic Mayuri like a dark _oni_ that will devour who ever dared to venture close to her.

"He's Mayuri's guardian. Five years ago, when the tribe was traveling to Amegakure at the end of winter to make it in time for the Spring Festival, I found her in the snow, half dead. Some of the other kids and I carried her back and since then Kaimu has claimed guardianship over her and taught her his trade."

"He's really protective of her, and plain scary too," another kid named Shouma, added. "I know you're fearless and stuff like that, but I suggest that you stay away from her."

Though, Itachi seemed to take what they said into consideration, he wasn't deterred a bit. He really wanted to talk to her. He was sure her voice would be as sweet as the music she played.

As he took Sasuke around, hand in hand, he stayed relatively close to the girl and the place where she showcased her talent. The entire time, Kaimu stood behind her watching intently on her performance.

"Nii-san," Sasuke said with his little seven year old voice as he tugged Itachi's sleeve. "Where are we going next?"

Itachi looked down at Sasuke and back up at the girl who sat there patiently as her mentor took his turn with the _kokyu_. She sat there, unmoving, like a statue of a goddess. His entire being was captivated by her just sitting there.

"I don't know."

Sasuke's little brain started working. He adored his older brother more than anyone else, and it didn't take much thinking for him to understand Itachi. He also took a liking the girl when itachi had pointed her out, and it was true that the man who with as with her was scary, but Sasuke would walk on fire if Itachi wanted him too.

He sucked up a big breath and gathered up all his courage and let go of his brother's hand. He marched his way toward the girl and her frightening guardian. When he made it to their stall, Sasuke looked up at the man named Kaimu. Somehow up close the man looked even more frightening with his long shaggy hair, scraggily beard and sharp eyes.

Sasuke gulped and turned toward the girl shakily. She looked at him with eyes larger than the moon.

"My name is Sasuke," he announced loudly. "What is yours?"

"Mayuri," she said and her voice brought a new blush across Sasuke's face.

"N-nice to meet you," Sasuke said with a shy smile.

"Nice to meet you too," she said with a bright dazzling smile.

"Shinpi," Kaimu's commanding voice said and Sasuke flinched. "Is this your friend?"

Sasuke panicked. But the girl just wrapped a comforting hand around his distressed shoulders and said, "yes," with a smile. "He's someone I met with another group of kids with Lupa. We haven't been formally introduced yet though. Kaimu, it is my free time now, isn't it? May I go?"

"Yeah," Kaimu said lazily handing her a small purse of allowance. "You can do whatever you want. Just be back before dinner. We'll work on tomorrow's show afterwards."

"Yes sir."

With a grunt and another warning glance at Sasuke, Kaimu left with his cart load of instruments. After he was out of sight, Sasuke let out a long sigh of relief and fell to the ground in a heap of sluggish muscles.

Mayuri came and crouched down on the ground besides him. "So, Sasuke," she asked, "what is it that you are here for?"

The smile returned to Sasuke's face and he stood up quickly and waved toward Itachi.

From where he was standing, Itachi strode forward with his hands in his pockets and a curious smile lit on his face. Who would have thought that his troublemaking little brother would actually drive away the big bad wolf. He owed one to the gutsy kid.

"Mayuri, this is my big brother!" Sasuke introduced enthusiastically. "His name is Itachi and he's the best of the best at the Konoha Ninja Academy and the world!"

"I do well enough," Itachi said modestly.

And that was the start. Every year since, during the summer, Itachi made sure his schedule was free for at least a week. Between missions he would take Sasuke out to meet with her. And he anticipated the aroma of summer more and more every year.


	2. Hope

Part Two

Hope

On June 9th he turned eighteen, and by law, was allowed to get married. For many growing adolescents his age, the prospect of marriage was lodged in the back of their heads, to be forgotten until a later time in their lives. The thought of settling down with one woman is something they'll worry and fret over in a couple more years. But Itachi was not one of those boys. He had always, even during his tender ages, always been several steps ahead of his own generation. The idea of marriage encouraged him and he knew exactly who he would spend the rest of his life with.

That autumn, he had a mission to the rural village of Kuzagakure. It was also coincidentally the same place that Mayuri was with her caravan. The mission was a simple retrieval, not too difficult, and most definitely not worthy of his skill level. But the village was short on hands, and since he knew the travel schedule of her caravan he accepted.

He rested up in a dense tree as he waited for any signs of travelers. In another tree close by he felt the presence of his good friend, Shisui. He was carefree and easygoing, and one of the few members of his clan that approved of Itachi's relationship with Mayuri.

"Itachi," he called out. "I saw a caravan traveling toward here from the northeast."

"Is my golden haired siren among them?"

"I can't be sure if I saw a head of gold hidden under a hood of black and grey."

Itachi chuckled, Shisui was jesting. "Your eyes couldn't see?"

Shisui put up a finger signaling that he wasn't finished just yet. "I didn't see your beloved, but I did see her gloomy guardian."

"He's not so gloomy once you get to know him," Itachi said.

Shisui laughed, wrapping his arms around his stomach. He leaned back as a habit whenever he was in the feel for a good hearty laugh, and it seemed as if he was going to fall off the tree. "You're only saying that in hopes of having him as a father-in-law."

"That is one of his good points."

With an intrigued look in his eyes, Shisui turned toward northeast and activated his red eyes. "They aren't far now. Are you going to surprise her?"

Itachi nodded with a content smile on his face. He had prepared a ring for her, one simple, yet classy. It was absolutely perfect for her.

"I'll steal her away."

"Need some help?"

"No, but if you want to join in the fun, I won't stop you."

Shisui contemplated a little. "Sure, why not?" His mind started to wander and think of creative ways to distract Kaimu while Itachi whisks his protégé away. No doubt Kaimu will be angry, but he'll let them off the hook after a short lecture. That's what parents are always like; they extract discipline and then forgive. "Itachi, have you told your folks about this?"

Itachi stuck his hands in his pockets and assumed his relaxed posture, but inside he was distressed over the task of gaining the approval of his parents.

He knew his mother liked Mayuri, perhaps even adored her. She was absolutely delighted to know her aloof son was finally interested in something other than _ninjutsus _and _shurikens_. There was no doubt that Sasuke already saw Mayuri as a sister. The boy was extremely protective of his brother's girlfriend. Shisui was also one of his supporters. But the rest of the clan disliked the idea of their most talented mixing his blood with an outsider. Fukaku, Itachi's father, was completely against anything that had to do with Mayuri, and thus she wasn't a very welcomed topic at the dinner table.

"Concentrate on your studies and on your missions," Fukaku would always say whenever Mayuri came up in conversation. "With your talents you have a chance at becoming the next Hokage."

"I'm sure my mother has some sort of idea. But I haven't told my father yet. But I think he'll understand." Eventually, he added as a thought. Itachi would marry Mayuri no matter what. He just liked the thought of getting his parents' blessing while at it.

Shisui shook his head. No one knew exactly how stubborn Uchiha Fukaku was, since no one stuck with their own argument against him until the end, except perhaps his own wife. He was sure that Itachi would at least prove to be a challenge. He is his father's son after all. He wasn't sure what he can do when the time came, but Shisui would help his friend as much as he can.

"Let's go," Itachi said before he leapt forward.

"Whoop!" Shisui teased, "So eager."

It went by fast and easy, and it didn't even last five minutes before Mayuri was in Itachi's arms and being carried away. Shisui had changed his appearance and had cloned himself so it looked as if a renegade was attacking. The fighters and men of the caravan quickly got into position to protect, but just as Shisui came close enough for a melee, the clones dispelled and Mayuri was gone.

"All in a day's work," he commented as he watched the distressed people scramble around in confusion. They hardly even knew someone was missing.

His eyes searched for Kaimu and located him quickly because of his height. The dark man looked around silently. He was aware of her missing, but he wasn't going to throw a tantrum over it. He knew where she was, or at least had a good idea.

"Where are we going?" Mayuri asked in her ever sweet voice while they soared through the air above the canopy of forest trees with one leap.

"Just a little clearing I found on my way here." She felt nice in his arms, he thought, no lighter than a feather.

"Did Shisui-san help you?"

He glanced over at her with laughter in his dark eyes. "You knew even though he was in disguise?"

"What can I say? After spending so much time with you, it should only be natural for your talents to rub off."

Itachi descended quickly into the clearing and set her feet down slowly on the gentle grass. He beamed down at her with a wide smile spread across his face. What he had planned to come excited him until his heart felt as if it was going to burst.

"Mayuri," he whispered her name, "I have something I want to say."

He slid down onto one knee and reached behind his back for his pouch of weapons and retrieved a small box. He opened it slowly and heard Mayuri gasp. He looked up again and found happy tears flow out of her bright lilac eyes. "I know this is very sudden and the road ahead of us will undoubtedly be difficult, but, Shirakawa Mayuri, will you marry me?"

As unorthodox as it is, Mayuri fell on her knees and touched her forehead with his.

"Of course I will."

Itachi smiled. Such straightforwardness, as expected of her. "Are you ready to fight for your position as my bride?"

"Are you kidding? I was born ready. I would kill just to hold your hand."

"Woah, hold your horses," Itachi said and wrapped his long fingers around her small hand. "There's no need for that. You have my heart." He took her left hand and slipped the ring on her finger and lifted it to his lips for a kiss. "I promise, soon, you'll be mine, and mine alone."

"I hope that day comes real soon," she murmured in his ear before he sealed anymore words that came from her lips with his.


	3. Love

Part Three

Love

It was the dead of night when he finally returned from his mission. He was tired, and every muscle in body ached, but the thought of being home again brought a bit of life back.

Before he did anything else, Itachi headed to the bathroom down the dark hall of his private apartments on the clan's grounds and washed his hands thoroughly. It had become a ritual to clean his hands of blood, even if it only metaphorical. The entire Uchiha grounds could be covered in the blood of its enemies, but not this house of his.

Next, before entering his own room to sleep, he went to the living room. A single candle's flame still flickered at his window. Below it sat Mayuri wrapped up in a thick blanket sleeping soundly against the wall. A tired smile stretched across his face as he blew out the candle. He gathered her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom where he set her gently down on the futon laid out at the center of the room. Quickly, he changed out of his dirty and worn clothes into a clean set for sleeping.

He crawled into bed next to her and waited for her habitual snuggling.

"You're back," she acknowledged, half-asleep as she rubbed her face against his neck.

"I'm back."

She flipped around so that her back pressed against his chest, their bodies conformed to each others, her soft curves melted into his hard planes. Under the covers his fingers slid down her forearm to her hand. Holding it he gave it a gentle squeeze and rubbed his fingertips against the smooth skin. It had become a habit of his to play with her fingers whenever they held hands. The long length of pale fingers and perfectly manicured nails fascinated him and stimulated his nerves. He slid his fingers in between hers and looked down at their hands, identically adorned with a single silver band around their ring fingers. Hers decorated with a simple red jewel.

It only took him three long years of stubborn, obstinate perseverance to finally wring the approval out of his father. As a last resort, he had been prepared to win a duel with his father and even cut himself off from the Uchiha clan in order to marry Mayuri.

Luckily though, when Mayuri had secretly, by her own means, met with the elders of the family they immediately took a liking to her. It was actually Itachi's grandfather, the chief of the Konoha police force, who consented to the union.

"With all these gloomy descendants, we're in desperate need for someone as bright as Mayuri-san," he has said with his face scrunched up in a wrinkly smile. Since it would be a show of disrespect to the head, Fukaku quickly changed his adamant mind and approved.

It hadn't been easy for Mayuri to live with the Uchiha. Being not only the only foreigner, but also the first outsider to marry into the family, she had been alienated by most of the younger and middle generations of the clan. The younger males of the family, though, were found to accept her much easier than the females, which always put Itachi on the edge, though he was confident she would never betray his faith and love. Children adored her, and the elderly enjoyed her music.

"Snuggle a bit closer to me, won't you love?" he whispered lovingly in her ear.

His breath tickled the sensitive nerves of her face and she sighed contently having fallen back asleep. With her hand still in his, he wrapped his arms around under the slight swell of her breasts to hold her closer to him as he buried his face into the luscious mass of golden hair.

She smells so nice, he thought as the warmth of her supple body seeped through the light fabric of their clothes and heated his body. She wedged one of her thin legs in between his, tying them in a knot of limbs and cloth.

"I love you," he muttered as he started to drift.

"I love you too," she repeated before both of them fell asleep.

In the morning, before his wife woke up, Itachi crawled out of bed. Though he had slept late, this morning was special and he had made special plans which called for early rising. After changing and washing up, he heard he quiet cry of a babe waking. With his plans in jeopardy, Itachi quickly jumped out of his room and into the room across the hall where his four month old child woke.

Yukimura, who Itachi's mother claimed looked exactly like his father as a baby, stretched his short limbs as he cooed and made baby noises. His father scooped him up with large strong arms and laid him against his strong shoulder.

"There, there," Itachi murmured quietly as he patted Yuki's soft round back. "Don't fret too much. It's not a manly thing to do. Daddy will get you something to eat. But you must promise Daddy you won't make a sound, otherwise my surprise for Mommy will be ruined."

Quickly and efficiently he changed Yuki's diaper and clothes and fed him. Itachi strapped Yuki to his back so he could keep an eye on his treasure while he worked on breakfast for himself and Mayuri. He looked in their pantry and decided it'd be best to go with a traditional Japanese styled breakfast, since Mayuri had bought dried ingredients in bulk.

Old habits die hard, Itachi mused. Mayuri had been raised to buy dehydrated items of food in large quantities by the nomads that have brought her up. When one is constantly on the move, one never knows when one will reach another town to buy food. Slowly though, she was getting used to a settled life where she slept in the same bed every night, ate food made with fresh ingredients, and the benefits of a steady income.

With hot _miso_ soup, lightly salted grilled fish, and a vegetable side dish prepared and arranged neatly on the table, Itachi sat down with his son as they waited for the rice to finish cooking. He played with, teased, and imitated Yuki for nearly a half hour before the baby became sleepy eyed and dozy. With a fatherly smile, Itachi kissed his forehead and placed him in a small wooden rocking crib Sasuke had fashioned himself as gift for Yuki's baby shower.

Making sure his baby was soundly asleep, Itachi checked on the rice. It was perfectly cooked, fluffy and glowing. I'd make a great chef, he thought with a smug smile on his face.

He went to their bedroom and a sudden wave of delight washed over him as he saw his wife lying in his bed with her lustrous golden hair tossed and gleaming in the sunshine from outside. Watching her almost made him want to crawl into bed next to her again and slowly make love to her while she was still in the erotic state of being half-asleep.

But he held himself back.

He tucked the hair that had spilled over her face behind her ear and bent down to kiss the corner of her eye and then move down to kiss the corner of her lips. She moaned quietly and shifted a little under the light pressure of his lips.

"Mayuri," he whispered in her ear. "Wake up, love."

He shook her gently by the shoulder causing more wakeful moaning and mild tossing. With more tender coaxing from her husband, Mayuri finally opened her eyes to see an easy smile spread on Itachi's face.

She angled her head in the way she knew he liked and smiled flirtatiously. "Morning, handsome."

He kissed her lips playfully. "Good morning. I made you breakfast."

"Oh?" She said as she sat up slowly, her eyes soft and smoky. "Is it you?"

That caused him to choke back a laugh, though it still flooded out and filled the house with merriment. Mayuri made a face like a child deprived her of her favorite sweetie since her attempt at flirting was received in such a way, which caused another wave of laughter from Itachi.

When tears started coming out, he took a large breath and calmed down. "I'm sorry. So sorry," he said between hiccups of laughter. He saw her baby face and kissed her nose. "I meant food food. But I like the sound of your idea too. Maybe tonight, we can tumble a little. I have more than a couple of wicked things I would like to try with you after Yuki's asleep."

A blush spread across her face like red flowers blooming across a wide field, her eyes wide, dumbfounded. Itachi leaned it for another kiss when they heard Yuki cry outside. They both turned their heads in the general direction of the kitchen.

"I just fed him, so he may need to be burped," Itachi said and got up. "I'll go."

"Okay."

Mayuri watched he walk out the room and admired his strong back and long legs. With a content smile she went to the bathroom in their room and washed her face and brushed her teeth.

When she came out changed and refreshed Mayuri felt her heart take a leap in her chest as she watched Itachi pat Yuki's small back while murmuring encouragements and endearments of how handsome and smart Yuki was. It was impossible for her to ask for more. Simply because she had everything she ever wanted, she ever needed right in front of her.

When he spotted Mayuri standing at the entrance of the hall, Itachi took Yuki off his shoulder and cradled him in his arms. He took his son's small arm and waved it at his mother. Seeing yet another familiar face, Yuki cooed and giggled the adorable way babies do.

"Happy birthday, Mayuri."


End file.
